Most small businesses are always in need of extra help for lots of tasks around the company. Entrepreneurs have a tendency to run their business with a “do it yourself” mentality, which is great for cost-cutting but also bad for productivity reasons. If you’re the head of the company, it can be difficult to “let go” of certain tasks and focus more on the big picture of driving your company’s growth.

At the same time, it’s always good to believe in giving back to your community. One way you can benefit from a little give and take this summer is by bringing on one or two interns for the summer (can be either full or part-time). Marketing and PR are fields that are filled with college students in every part of the country since they’re two very popular fields of study right now. You can give back to your community by allowing a college student to get some valuable experience outside the classroom working at your company, and in return they’ll provide you with an extra set of hands with quality work.

As I blogged about, PR is a great area where interns can be extremely valuable. College PR students are eager to take the skills they learn in the classroom and apply in a real world setting. They can be great at identifying story ideas, writing press releases and coordinating stories for you in the local media. Share your PR Toolkit with them so you can both secure additional media exposure for your company.

On the marketing side, students are well versed in all things social media. They can offer their time in helping you set up company accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Flickr, to name a few. Interns can also provide you with some great tips on how to use each one effectively and brainstorm fun and compelling summer promotions to win over new customers.

But don’t wait too long because summer is already half over (unless you want to take the time to find the right student for an internship in the fall). Call your local college today or put out an ad on your local Craigslist classified offering exciting internship opportunities.

Are you currently employing interns this summer for your small business? Share your thoughts here.